Do You Love Me Now?
by Midnight113
Summary: It was their thing… he would ask her if she loved him and she would always respond the same way. But even as the years went by, he never stopped asking her. T&G Oneshot.


**Do You Love Me Now? © Midnight113. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it. **

**Synopsis: It was their thing… he would ask her if she loved him and she would always respond the same way. But even as the years went by, he never got tired of asking her. T&G Oneshot.**

**_A warning to all potential thieves, this work is copyright 2011 Midnight113._** **_Do You Love Me Now? is completely the work and property of Midnight113, to reproduce under any other name is theft!_**

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><p><strong>Do You Love Me Now?<strong>

**"~*~"**

**"-"**

**'-'**

**Age Five**

"Gabiiiii!" Five year old Troy Bolton whined at his best friend. He had just lost a tooth and now had a large gap between his teeth, causing his voice to whistle slightly whenever he spoke.

Five year old Gabriella Montez continued building her sandcastle, completely focused on the task at hand and much to busy to pay Troy any attention.

"Gabi! Gabi, are you listening to me?" Troy pouted and placed his little hands on his little hips, striking a superman pose. "I want to play superhero!" He whined, crossing his arms when his best friend ignored him.

Angry with her dismissal of his presence, Troy kicked her pathetically constructed castle of sand into millions of tiny little grains, destroying all her hard work.

Gabriella stared down at her masterpiece that had fallen faster than it had been standing. Her eyes immediately began to water and she looked up at Troy with the saddest expression a five year old could muster. "Why did you do that?" Her bottom lip quivered as she stared at her best friend.

The guilt washed over Troy so fast, his anger disappeared and was instead replaced with concern. He quickly knelt by his best friend and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to, I was just mad you weren't paying attention to me."

"You ruined it!" She shouted, tears falling from her eyes as she stood up. Pushing his body away from hers, she turned and started running towards her house.

"Wait!" Troy yelled after her, running to catch up. He grabbed hold of her elbow and spun her around until she was facing him. "I'm sorry. I'll help you rebuild it."

Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Gabriella's brown orbs looked up at the taller, lanky boy. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "We can play whatever you want, just please don't cry Gabi."

Her tears slowly dried on her cheeks as she smiled and nodded. "Okay." And just like they were okay again, just like they'd always be.

Holding her hand, Troy walked her back over to the sandbox in her backyard and stared down at the mess he'd made. "We better get started fixing it."

"Wait, I don't want to play that anymore."

"You don't? What do you want to play… superhero?" He asked hopefully.

She scrunched up her nose. "Ew… no. That's for boys. I want to play wedding."

"Wedding?" Troy asked his best friend as she led him towards the playground. "How do you play that?"

"It's easy, I see Shar and Chad do it all the time at school. You be the Daddy and I be the Mommy and we say words to each other until we kiss and then we're married."

"Married? Kissing? Yuck, why would anyone want to do that?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I don't know, but it's what all the grown-ups do." She replied in exasperation. "Duh."

"So? Maybe I don't want to be a grown-up."

"You can't not want to be one because you're going to have to be one someday." She rationalized in her five year old logic. "Now climb the ladder and stand at the top."

Troy sighed before obeying his best friend. He climbed up the ladder and turned around to watch her climb up after him once she had picked a weed from the grass. "Okay, now you say words."

"Like what?" He asked in confusion.

"I don't know, something nice."

"Um… it's a nice day?" He asked hesitantly.

"No!" She shouted, stomping her little foot and holding the weed in front of her. "You're suppose to say something nice about me Troy." She scolded him.

"Oh." He mumbled, looking down and scuffing the tip of his shoe against the wooden fortress.

"Well." She eyed him, patiently waiting.

"You smell nice."

Gabriella's face beamed with the compliment. "So do you. Okay, now we kiss."

"What!" His eyes widened and his heartbeat sped up, but he didn't know why.

"Troy, it's how you play." She chided.

A little nervous about the rules of this particular game, Troy shifted his weight and finally nodded. "Okay… I guess if it's how you play."

"Good." She then proceeded to close her eyes and pucker her lips, waiting for something to happen. Troy just stared at her and remained frozen, his pulse quickening.

Waiting a whole minute, Gabriella finally peeked an eye open to observe him and frowned. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Uh… I don't know how." He replied sheepishly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Mommy and Daddy always kiss. Here, it's like this." Leaning forward on her toes, Gabriella pecked Troy's lips so fast that he wasn't even sure if it had happened or not.

He stared wide-eyed at her when she pulled away and blushed. Silence passed between them before they both brought their sleeves up to their mouths and exclaimed, "Yuck!", wiping the kiss off of their lips.

Troy sputtered for a moment before gaining control of himself again. "Okay, now what?"

"Um… that's it. Now we're married I guess."

Troy nodded before looking around the yard. "So… do you love me now?"

"What?" Gabriella asked him confused.

"I thought that's what happened when people get married, they love each other."

"Uh uh, the only people I love are Mommy, Daddy and Mr. Snuggles." Mr. Snuggles was Gabriella's favorite teddy bear, she never went anywhere without him.

"I'm pretty sure you're suppose to love me now."

"Nah ah. You're wrong."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!

"ARE TOO!"

"Kids, time to come inside!" Mrs. Montez shouted through the yard. Troy and Gabriella stopped arguing and instead raced each other to the house.

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><p><strong>Age 11<strong>

It was recess time at East Elementary School and Troy Bolton was caught staring at Gabriella. She had been his best friend since forever and recently he'd found himself unable to tear his gaze away from her. The sad part was, he didn't know why he couldn't stop looking at her.

"Bolton and Montez sitting in a tree… K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love, then comes marriage… then comes the baby in the baby carriage." Chad, his best guy friend, sang across the schoolyard from his place in the tree he was trying to climb.

"Shut up." Troy yelled at him, but his efforts were futile since his other friends, Jason and Zeke, had started chanting right along with him.

"You two are so in love!" Chad teased, placing his hand over his heart. "It's so cute… Bolton loves Montez… Bolton loves Montez!" He taunted.

"You guys, shut up! I do not!"

"Then why can't you stop looking at her?" Jason asked, making kissy noises.

Troy gulped when he turned to stare at Gabriella on the other side of the schoolyard. She was sitting with her friends Sharpay and Taylor, brushing the hair of one of her dolls. When her head turned to stare at the commotion the boys were making, Troy did the stupidest thing he had ever done.

"I am not looking at Gabriella. I hate her! I can't stand her and I certainly don't love her!"

The boys all stared wide-eyed at him and Troy, as angry as he was, dared a peek in Gabriella's direction. The smile that had once been on her face had fallen and was now replaced with a frown. Her eyes were moist and she looked as if she were about to cry.

Troy watched everyone of their classmates stare at the two of them and suddenly became embarrassed and guilt-stricken. Gabriella quickly stood with her doll and ran inside the school, not looking back at Troy.

When school was over, Gabriella waited patiently for her mother to pick her up. She stood on a small hill, underneath an old oak tree. That's how Troy found her.

"Hey." He whispered. Gabriella scowled at him and then folded her arms, turning her body away from him. Staring at her back, he sighed and moved to stand beside her. "I'm sorry Gabi. I didn't really mean any of it."

"Then why did you say it?" She asked, not bothering to look at his bright, blue eyes.

"Because… all the guys were making fun of me."

"So?"

"So… I wanted them to stop. I don't like when people talk about us or our friendship."

"Well I don't like when you embarrass me in front of the whole school just so you don't look bad in front of your friends." She yelled, now turning to face him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again before pulling something out of his pocket. "Here."

Gabriella looked down at the object in his hand. "Your lucky pencil?"

Troy nodded. "I want you to have it." Gabriella eyed the pencil before taking it from him. "Do you accept my apology? He asked.

Gabriella smiled, thinking about the grand gesture of him entrusting her with his most prized possession. "Yes… as long as you don't do it again."

"I won't."

They stood there quietly, listening to the birds and the loud busses as they pulled away from the school. The sounds of their fellow classmates shouting and talking faded away as they stared at each other up on the hill.

"So do you love me now?" Troy asked, his tone honest as he waited for her to respond.

Gabriella scoffed and smiled. "No… you're my best friend."

Troy's eyebrow shot up. "So?"

"I only love my parents." She explained, leaning back against the bark of the tree.

Troy copied her movement, never taking his eyes off her. "And me and Mr. Snuggles."

"Humph, please. Mr. Snuggles was so first grade." She rolled her eyes before closing them and tilting her head upward. "I'm more mature than that now."

Troy made a comical sound through his mouth. "Pssh, whatever. You know you love me so just say it."

"No way." She grinned, ignoring the pout on his lips.

"Yeah-huh. Say it."

"No."

"Come on Gabi." He leaned closer and knocked her shoulder with his in a friendly way.

She shook her head as a horn honked off in the distance. Opening her eyes, she looked down and smiled. "That's my mom. See ya later." Grabbing her backpack, she ran down the hill and Troy's eyes followed her.

He didn't even realize he was smiling until her van drove away.

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><p><strong>Age 17<strong>

Walking through the hallway of East High, Troy Bolton skimmed every head he passed in search of his best friend. He had ten free minutes before he had to get to basketball practice, and being the captain meant he better be on time.

His eyes desperately searched the hall for the brunette, but she wasn't by her locker like he had expected she'd be. Frowning, Troy kept walking down the hall and asked a couple of her friends if they'd seen her.

Finally, Taylor had directed him towards the library on the third floor. Of course she'd be there. She always went there when she was upset.

Taking the stair two at a time, Troy jogged down the white tiled corridor lined with red lockers until he came to a large brown door at the end of the hall.

He peered inside through the small window and immediately spotted her head of black curls sitting at one of the large study tables. His heartbeat quickened as he pushed the door open.

It was now, or never.

The door squeaked open loudly, causing a couple students who were sitting at the computer table to look over at him. Troy ignored them though, and focused his attention on the girl who had always been his best friend.

Her nose was stuck in a history book as her eyes moved frantically across the text. Troy wasn't surprised by this picture; Gabriella had always loved to read. Even more so when she was emotional.

Deciding to chance it, he pulled out one of the plastic chairs beside her and plopped down on the seat. Gabriella's eyes remained fixed on the book in front of her, not once looking over at him. He figured she knew exactly who had just joined her at the table and was purposely ignoring his presence.

"Gabi? We need to talk."

Still nothing. How was he ever going to tell her what was on his mind if she wouldn't even acknowledge him?

"Why aren't you talking to me? What did I do?"

"Nothing." Alright, that was progress, but it still wasn't enough.

"Well it seems like I did something. Come on, I'm your best friend. You can tell me what I did to piss you off so bad."

Sighing, she turned her head towards him and he was met with the most intense glare he had ever seen. "No Troy… I can't." She turned back to her book then. "Now if you don't mind, I'm busy."

Troy knew exactly what had upset her so much. She had been acting like this all week with him and he had finally had enough. "I was hoping you'd just come clean with your jealousy, but I guess I should know better than that. I mean, you are my best friend."

Her head whipped around so fast, he had to jerk back to miss it slapping his face. "Jealous? I am not jealous!"

Leaning in towards her face, Troy narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Admit it, you're so jealous of me and Sharpay it's killing you."

Her hands tightened their grip on the book and her whole body appeared to be shaking. Knowing he was the only one who knew how to press her buttons, Troy leaned closer until his breathe was hitting her cheek. Her vanilla scent overwhelmed his senses and he had to use every ounce of control he had to not fulfill his curiosity and taste her.

"Admit it… you hate us together. You hate that she's my girlfriend and your not." Before he could react, a loud _clap _echoed through the quiet library.

Troy's cheek stung from the slap and he watched with a hooded gaze as Gabriella packed up her stuff. "I don't give a rat's ass about you and her. What you two do is between you and her. But don't you dare come flaunt it in my face when you _know _how I feel."

Zipping up her bag, she looked down at him. "Just leave me alone." She spoke with such finality that Troy was fuming. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she hurriedly exited the room.

Troy remained seated for a whole minute before jumping from his chair and flying towards the door.

"Hey!" He shouted at her retreating back as she navigated the deserted hallway, not once looking back at him. "You're the one who said it'd be better if we just stayed friends. You're the one, who said you didn't want to lose what we have." Troy quickened his steps as she neared the staircase until he was right behind her. Before she could descend, he reached out and grabbed a handful of her bag. "Gabi! Will you just wait one damn minute!"

Yanking her around to face him, Troy was shocked at the amount of tears pooling in her eyes. "What Troy! What do you want?" A few tears began to fall from her eyes and Troy felt guiltier than he ever had in his entire life.

Before she could wipe them away, Troy gently cupped her face with his hands and wiped at the tear stains with the pads of his thumbs. "For someone so smart, you're so incredibly stupid Gabi."

Furrowing her brow, Gabriella squeaked out in reply. "What?"

"Do you love me now?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything, you dense, gorgeous best friend of mine. I've been asking you that same question since we were five… but I mean it in a whole different way now and I have for a long time."

Her hazelnut eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-" Before she could mutter one more word, Troy crashed his lips against hers in an urgency that had been building up for far too long and had been begging to be sated.

He felt that familiar pull in his abdomen whenever she was close, his gut twisting and wrenching as their lips molded together in a passionate tangle. Her hands slowly dropped from her face. Hi right arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer while his other hand planted itself at the base of her neck to keep her there.

His heartbeat was thumping loudly in his ears and he could barely focus with all the feelings that were shooting through is body. It had been so long since he'd kissed her. The last time had been at a party playing spin the bottle.

Troy smiled against her lips when she moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. Feeling she wouldn't make a run for it, Troy dropped his other hand from the back of her neck and rested it on her hip to match the other one.

Not wanting to lose their balance and fall down the staircase they had been standing dangerously close to, Troy gently directed her towards the lockers; his lips never leaving hers. With a loud thud, he pushed her against the dirty metal and nipped at her neck.

"Mmm… what about Sharpay?" Gabriella whispered as Troy placed sweet butterfly kisses along her pulse down to her collar bone.

Pulling back, Troy shook his head in amusement. "What about her? Don't you know? We planned the whole thing." Gabriella frowned in confusion.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because Gabi, I didn't know any other way to get you to admit your feelings for me. Chad suggested I make you jealous so I listened to him and Shar went along with it because I told her I'd put a good work in for her with Chad."

"I don't' believe this."

"Me neither, I can't believe you made me go through all this work just to get you to realize how good we are together."

Gabriella closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "I know how good we are, that's why we're friends. I just don't… want to lose that if something bad happens."

"Nothing bad will happen."

"You don't know that Troy."

"You're right, I don't. But I can promise you I won't do anything to make something bad happen." He leaned his forehead against hers and smiled. "You know I'm crazy about you."

"My head is spinning right now." She admitted with a blush, pulling away to look in his eyes.

"My stomach is currently home to a million frogs if that makes you feel any better."

She giggled then, and Troy thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He stared down at her face and smiled. "So… what's the verdict? You think we can stop playing this 'I don't have feelings for you' game and just get together already?"

Gabriella laughed and then nodded her head, eyes glowing brightly. "Maybe we can see what happens. I mean, we have been married for twelve years so I guess it couldn't hurt. Plus we'd have all these… extra benefits." She fisted his blue shirt in her hands and tightened her grip before pulling him towards her face.

Eyebrows raised in amusement, Troy kissed her sweetly for a moment before pulling back. "Sounds good to me."

"Good."

They shared a quick peck once more. "I could get use to this." Troy murmured against her lips.

"I can't believe it took us so long to do this." She kissed him again, biting down on his lip.

"Mmm… that's your fault."

"Shut up." She mumbled once more and pecked his lips again.

Troy pulled back and eyed her suspiciously. "So, do you love me now?"

He watched her tilt her head and think about it before her eyes sparkled. "No. But maybe soon." She nodded her head to console him and then pecked a light, feather-like kiss on the tip of his nose. She then ducked under his arm that was now caging her in against the locker and fixed the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

Walking away, Troy tilted his head and watched her shoot him a sly smile over her shoulder as if she knew he was watching her.

He couldn't help it… he smirked.

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><p><strong>Age 18<strong>

"Ladies and Gentleman, let's hear it for the class of 2011!" Principal Matsui shouted from the podium he was standing at on top of a large stage. The senior class of East High launched their caps into the sky simultaneously, shouting and making as much noise as possible in celebration.

Troy was excited and anxious to get to college next year. He had decided to attend Berkley after finding out that his girlfriend would be at Stanford next fall.

Turning to his girlfriend next to him, Troy wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up in the air. She squealed in delight and laughed. "Troy!"

Placing her back safely on the gymnasium floor, he engulfed her in a hug and kissed the side of her head. "I can't believe we're finally done here. I can't wait to get started on the next part of our life." He nuzzled her nose with his and smiled.

"I know, I'm going to miss this place." Troy's eyes widened playfully and she slapped his chest. "Oh stop… I am. Lot's of good memories here." Her voice lowered and as she tugged at Troy's black skinny tie.

"True." He nodded, grinning. "Which leads me to ask… do you love me now? After everything that we've been through and after months of dating-"

"Yes!" She cut him off and locked their lips together passionately. "Yes…yes, yes." She kissed him between each 'yes'. "I've loved you since you first asked me that question. Don't you know that?"

Smiling, Troy shook his head. "I do now."

Placing both of her palms against his cheeks, she smiled. "Good. So tell me, do you love me now? After I denied my feelings for you for so long?"

"Of course I do. You're my best friend. I love you Gabi." The sincerity in his voice made her eyes water and they quickly lost themselves in each other's embrace. Everything else around them fading away… with only the prospects of their futures ahead.

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><p><strong>Age 27<strong>

"With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Troy stared down at the woman in front of him, happier than he had ever been. He had waited for this day for so long and he knew she felt the same.

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he smiled and asked, "So… do you love me now?"

Gabriella Bolton beamed, her beautiful white dress accentuating her features as the lace hugged her curves and teased Troy with the exposed skin that was showing. Her veil was pushed back with her long black tendrils styled up in an intricate knot.

She nodded and Troy felt his insides explode with excitement. "Yes… always. What about you?"

Troy grinned and leaned in slowly. "Yeah… I do."

As they sealed their first kiss as husband and wife, Troy realized he'd never get tired of asking her and he'd never get tired of hearing her answer.

He would love her now… tomorrow and the next day for the rest of his life because he always had and he knew he always would.


End file.
